Pyramid Head
Pyramid Head, also known as "Triangle Head" (三角頭) in Japan,1 is a fictional monster from the Silent Hill video game series, introduced in the second installment, Silent Hill 2. There it serves as a symbol of the protagonist's repressed guilt and anger over murdering his wife. He has since appeared in subsequent series entries, and featured in a minor role in Silent Hill: Homecoming. Description Of the creatures that appear in Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head is one of the few that is overtly masculine in appearance, whereas the other monsters generally have feminine features to them, with the exception of the Doormen/Abstract Daddy. Pyramid Head resembles a pale, muscular man covered with a white, blood-soaked robe reminiscent of a butcher's smock. His most outstanding feature is a large, red, triangular helmet that covers his head completely. It was reportedly designed to appear painful to wear, suggesting that it serves as some kind of punishment. In interviews with the chief artist responsible for creating the character it is stated that the initial thought process behind the pyramid shaped helm was to create an iconography of "pain".2 In other accounts the helmet has been described as an elaborate executioner's mask. Like the Nurses in the game, Pyramid Head wears plain white gloves with partially connected fingers, either to conserve polygons or for a unique effect. Early designs show him with a strange tattoo on his left shoulder, but this does not appear in the game. Pyramid Head is usually armed either with the Great Knife or a lightweight spear. However, he can also attack with a strangle grip, during which a black tongue-like protrusion "stabs". Similar to an attack used by other creatures in the game, he can also perform a headbutt which can cause an instant death. Lastly, he can use an extremely slow overhead chop with the Great Knife, which also causes instant death (except in Easy Mode). Pyramid Head does not speak, but grunts and moans painfully inside the helmet - his breath hisses through the helmet grilles. His actions display shocking brutality as shown during the game in two separate scenes: he sexually assaults and violently kills two Mannequins and a Lying Figure. In all of his appearances Pyramid Head punishes his victims in extremely painful and violent manners both physically and mentally. Symbolism As revealed throughout the game, Pyramid Head's appearance was a variation of the outfits of the executioners from times past, who wore red hoods and ceremonial robes to make themselves similar to Valtiel, an angel. Pyramid Head was created from "the townspeoples' idolatrous ideologies".3 Pyramid Head also shares traits with Valtiel, such as similar gloves, cloth stitching, and following the protagonist of the game.3 According to documents created for the release of Silent Hill 4: The Room, a sect of the Silent Hill cult (the "Valtiel Sect") wore the executioner's costume depicted in Silent Hill 2. In Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head serves as a symbol of the repressed anger and guilt of the protagonist, James.4 Pyramid Head functions as both an executioner of Maria, and the constant tormentor and punisher of James. Depiction in film Pyramid Head appears in the 2006 film Silent Hill, listed in the credits as "Red Pyramid" and portrayed by Roberto Campanella, where he acts again as a tenacious antagonist first encountered by Rose DaSilva in Midwich Elementary School while looking for her daughter. Pyramid Head's appearance is different from the game. Christophe Gans, the director of the film, noted that despite the name, Pyramid Head's head is actually "a basin and not a triangle at all" and that "it was impossible to make an authentic replica of the shape and actually have a real person move under it."1 Pyramid Head's "very deformed body" in the game was also altered into "tall, powerful character a little like the Warrior God in 'Stargate'."1 Gans has also stated that Red Pyramid's appearance is conjured from a female perspective.